A constitutional bench, comprising Justice M Katju and Justice S L Saraf, appealed to the people to consider the suggestions of the court, saying the country required more schools, hospitals and technical institutions than places of worship.

For constructing places of worship on one's own land, permission from the district magistrate was not required, the bench observed delivering its verdict on a petiton filed by Mohd Saharif Saifi.

Saifi had alleged in the petition the station house officer in Dilari in Moradabad district had restrained him from building a mosque till permission was obtained from the district magistrate.